Flipkart.com raises Rs 89.6 crore funding

The online retail firm claims that it has raised a total of US$31 million so far.

The Bengaluru based e-commerce company Flipkart.com, which sells books, mobile phones, games and music DVDs/CDs online, has received a funding of US$20 million (Rs 89.6 crore) from its existing investor Tiger Global. In 2010, Tiger Global invested US$10 million in Flipkart.com. In 2009, Accel Partners invested an undisclosed amount in the online retail company. Flipkart.com claims that it has raised US$31 million so far.

In an official communiqué, the company indicates that the funding will be used for building capacity in supply chain and logistics, upgrading technology capabilities, and expanding marketing initiatives.

Sachin Bansal, chief executive officer, Flipkart, says, "With consumers increasingly shifting their purchase online, it is imperative for us to expand our presence and take it to the next level. These funds will enable us to build more capacity in our supply chain so that we can shrink customer delivery timelines, while expanding our product base."

Elaborating further, Bansal says, "Secondly, this will enable us to consistently upgrade our technology backbone since technology is the biggest enabler and a huge differentiator in the e-commerce segment. With internet-savvy customers increasingly becoming accustomed to the ease of online shopping, we plan to invest in our marketing initiatives to build a customer base, spanning the length and breadth of the country."

Binny Bansal, chief operating officer, Flipkart, says, "E-commerce has already crossed the tipping point in the country and we are witnessing huge growth in the industry. Having already established ourselves as leading players, we expect to pick up a large share of the growing e-commerce pie. Investments in supply chain and technology will help us stay ahead of competition, and help us achieve our goal to become the largest e-commerce player in the country."

The company also plans to foray into new product lines in the electronics and consumer goods segments in the near future.

In December 2010, Flipkart.com acquired the social network-based book discovery, recommendation and review site weRead.com. weRead.com was owned by Lulu.com, an open book publishing platform which allows its users to create their own books, distribute and sell them online.

As per the information available on Accel Partners' website (Accel.com), the company has investments in various e-commerce firms such as Groupon.com, BabyOye.com, Exclusively.com and Letsbuy.com, apart from Flipkart.com.